Songam/Campaign Log

Act I

Canto I

The party, the Bruiser and Artful Rogues, the Sorcerer, the Bard; assembled by coincidence at a countryside inn, interrupts a rowdy drunk fight. Three men (Kanis, Harald, and Ogland) who introduce themselves as merchants see the group's combat prowess in action, and ask them to ferry a heavy bound tome for them to the nearby city-state of Taraheil. They tell the party to find a Marion of the Golden Goblet, an Inn. They learn that Harald tried to read the book, and it severely stunned and dazed him, leaving him in a drooling stupor. Hence, actually reading the book is ill-advised.

Canto II

The group agrees, although they are accosted by goblin raiders on their way to the town. As they arrive, they meet the Druid, who joins the party. Once in town, they deliver the book to Marion, who reads it without ill effect. He then also suffers an attempt on his life as a coin delivered by the party - which was also tracking them - detonates in Marion's hand. He regenerates, showing he is decidedly not human, though he appears to be. Weakened, he explains that the book is a fake Manual of the Infinite Planes and that a real copy could be used to travel any and all planes at-will. He goes on to explain Ogland and Co. have been competing with Marion to acquire the real copy, and that Marion has reason to believe the real Manual is in Taraheil.

Canto III

The party searches for the book, picking up the Paladin along the way. They begin by breaking into the Prison of Asat beneath the city and combating Ogland agents, a zombie abomination, and a giant crocodile in the city sewers. They successfully retrieve two scrolls that identify how to retrieve the Manual, and pocket them for transport to Marion. After stopping at the Inn, the party deduces the location of the Manual is a cave outside of the city proper, and travel there to battle cultists who have taken up residence, and some evil fish. The Bard travels to the Port Authority to seek information on an Ogland and Co. ship, which the Artful Rogue sneaks aboard and accidentally triggers a bomb that sinks it. They both narrowly escape being implicated for impersonating city officials and being caught at the scene of the explosion. Meanwhile, the Druid sneaks into a house that is the scene of a recent murder, the Bruiser Rogue accidentally tricks his way into a drug ring, the Sorceror is accosted by a man with a dagger that can do no harm, and the Paladin learns more of his lineage from a historian in town. The party reassembles when a Bulette attacks a market square, and they defeat it.

Canto IV

Learning of a potential plot to kill the King of Taraheil, the party teams up with a friend of Marion's and an agent of the city, Tywin. They investigate (and brutalize) an Ogland and Co. warehouse. They learn from some ledgers that a shipment of something obviously dangerous left just before they arrived for the royal stockhouse, and the party rushes there. They find some more agents, slay them, and unleash the cargo: a rapidly multiplying ooze that threatens to engulf the warehouse. Tywin flees while the party tries to fend it off, only to return with an alchemical freeze-bomb that he uses after the party evacuates to flash-freeze the ooze. The royal guards that also arrive address Tywin as Prince, which he definitely was and just didn't bother to tell anyone.

Canto V

The party returns to two Marions, both of whom explain that there were several temporal incidents that effectively caused plot holes at set points during the adventure. The second Marion explains that his presence is to warn the party of the interference, and that in doing so he cannot travel back again. Instead, each of the six party members is tasked to travel back in time alone to induce the proper timeline's events by interfering with a different party member in the past, without being detected. The ritual is cast, but unfortunately...

Act II

Canto I

The Druid, Sorceror, Paladin, and a newcomer - the Ranger - awaken sporadically in a cave, blindfolded and restrained. They eventually break out, find Marion entombed in a magical sarcophagus in a nearby room, and beat back waves of Hobgoblins while Marion opens a gate to teleport the party out of harms way. They succeed, and land in a cave that Marion deduces is not far from the city of Eingazel. This is fortunate, as he discovered there lies an item of power there that will be necessary to use the Manual. He also reveals the scroll from Azat is still in his possession, and explains that it is one of several items also needed to use the book. He explains one more thing he has been able to deduce: the time interference presumably performed by Ogland and Co. was not the first incidence, and there was a previous party - the Chakat, the Cleric, and the Artful Rogue - that has come before and were lost to the temporal changes except the Rogue, who has no recollection of Phase 1 (with the Cleric or Chakat). The entire party, Marion included, also finds it difficult to piece together their own personal history of events, and Marion postulates that the shift effects up to six months into the past. They defeat a Behir in the cave, and an Astral Deva visits them and gives them Divine powers to aid in their adventure. They travel through the long desert, fighting assassins,